


Feliz Navidad, Cariño

by liggytheauthoress



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:12:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13139775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liggytheauthoress/pseuds/liggytheauthoress
Summary: "Vas can’t believe he’s even considering this. Josh has gotten them into crazier situations than this, but asking him to fake a relationship is a new kind of ridiculous, even for him."The fake-relationship-for-the-holidays au that precisely one (1) person asked for. Featuring sap, fluff, and as many tropes as I could think of.





	Feliz Navidad, Cariño

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dutchydoescoke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dutchydoescoke/gifts).



> My best friend really wanted fake-dating fic for Christmas, and since he's not only my best friend but also the driving force behind the creation of Melt the Elements, I was pretty much legally obligated to write him some.
> 
> Merry Christmas, nerd.

Vasquez has been best friends with Josh ever since the day in first grade where Josh punched a kid in the mouth for making fun of Vas’s accent. They’ve been joined at the proverbial hip for ten years, been through more shit than either of them can even begin to list, so Vas is fairly secure in his belief that, at this point, literally nothing Josh does can surprise him anymore.

Or at least that’s what he’d believed up until roughly thirty seconds ago.

“You told your family _what?_ ” he asks, because there’s no way he heard that right.

“I may have accidentally told them we were dating.”

Josh at least has the decency to look repentant, but Vas isn’t appeased. “How the fuck do you _accidentally_ tell someone that?”

“Oh, please, like that’s the worst thing I’ve ever done under pressure.” At Vas’s sharp look, Josh sighs and continues. “Look, I knew you were gonna be alone for Christmas this year-”

“So you told people we were dating.”

“Would you let me finish? All I wanted to do was ask my parents if you could come with us to that stupid Christmas party my grandparents make everyone come to every year, but then my mom started giving me this bullshit about how it’s suppose to be for ‘family only’...”

“And this led to ‘we’re dating’ how?”

“I brought up all the people my cousins always bring and Mom said that was different because my cousins were dating those people, and...I don’t know, inspiration struck?”

Vas stares at him. “There was really _nothing else_ you could have thought of?”

Josh makes a vague, exasperated gesture. “Dude, you know me, when has my brain _ever_ been faster than my mouth?” He bats his eyelashes in an over-the-top way that makes Vas want to smile despite himself. “Come on, I’d make an amazing fake boyfriend.”

“You actually want to go through with this.” It’s not even a question - Vas knows Josh too well.

“Why not? It’s only for a week or so. If my parents ask after that we just say we decided we’re better off as just friends.” Josh pouts a little. “Please?”

Vas can’t believe he’s even considering this. Josh has gotten them into crazier situations than this, but asking him to fake a relationship is a new kind of ridiculous, even for him. Truth be told, Vas is a little pissed about it - yeah, it’s true he wasn’t looking forward to spending his favorite holiday alone, but there were so many possible solutions that _didn’t_ involve pretending to date his best friend. Of course Josh would pick the dumbest, most unnecessary option possible.

Josh, who is starting to look more and more like a kicked puppy with every second Vas doesn’t answer.

Vas sighs.

He can’t stay mad at Josh for long.

Okay, that’s a lie, he can, and has, but not over something like this, when Josh was just trying to include him in his family’s holiday so that Vas wouldn’t have to spend Christmas alone at home.

Josh might be an idiot, but he’s a considerate idiot.

And there are worse ways to spend Christmas than with his best friend, however infuriating that best friend might be.

Vas mentally throws up his hands in defeat as he gives in to Josh’s latest insanity. “Fine. If only to reassure your parents that _someone_ is willing to date you.”

* * *

As it turns out, slipping into a convincing fake relationship with Josh is incredibly easy. Which should probably surprise Vas more than it does, but whatever.

The first time he goes over to Josh’s house after they start is still a little nerve-wracking - although Vas isn’t sure why, the worst that could happen is Josh’s parents calling their bluff. In any case, his somewhat confusing worry ends up being completely unfounded, since Josh’s mom greets him exactly the same way she has for ten years and doesn’t even blink an eye when they curl up together on the couch.

Granted, that might be at least partially due to the fact that he and Josh have been acting like an old married couple since the sixth grade. And PDA has never been something they’ve had a problem with - they’re both tactile people by nature, and Josh is even more of a cuddler than Vas is, so physical affection is pretty standard behavior for them. Really, the only thing that’s different is the kissing (hell, even _that_ isn’t totally new, because he and Josh grew up together, they went through puberty together, and practicing on each other had seemed like the most practical way to learn how to kiss).

Yeah, okay, Vas can see why Josh’s mom isn’t questioning any of this.

Josh nuzzles into his side, an action they’ve both done a thousand times but one that feels different since they started this little charade. “Mom wants to know if you’re staying the night.”

Vas grins, leaning in to press a quick kiss to his best friend’s cheek in a way that seems far more natural than it should. “Only if you promise not to shove me off the bed.”

“I did that _one time_ …” The pout on Josh’s face is adorable and Vas resists the urge to kiss it away (seriously though, kissing his best friend should not be quite this easy. Or enjoyable).

“Three times, _güero_. Three times.”

“Yeah? Well at least I don’t steal the blankets.”

Vas can’t argue with that, so he just snuggles closer and tries not to think about how much he enjoys having Josh in his arms like this.

* * *

The two hour drive to Josh’s grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve Eve is uneventful. Vas dozes a bit, and when he wakes up fully he finds that Josh is fast asleep with his head on Vas’s shoulder. His face is pressed into Vas’s neck, breath wafting across his skin with every exhale, and while this isn’t anywhere close to being the first time Josh has fallen asleep on his best friend, this time feels weirdly intimate in a way that makes a warm feeling flicker in Vas’s chest.

He’s actually sorry when they arrive and Josh sits up as he snorts awake.

Vas is so busy trying to figure out what the hell’s going on with him that he almost doesn’t notice when Josh pulls him to a stop just outside the front door. “What?”

Josh points to the doorway.

Mistletoe.

“It’s bad luck not to,” Josh says. “Pretty sure Santa will smite us or something if we don’t.”

“That’s not how it works and you know it.”

“You wanna risk it?”

Vas glances up at the mistletoe again and smiles a little. “Not really,” he admits.

That’s totally the only reason he grabs Josh by the scarf and pulls him in for a kiss. Totally.

* * *

The rest of Josh’s family is like him: friendly, extroverted, and more than a little loud. Vas has never been big on meeting new people, so even though he feels fairly comfortable amidst the chatter, he uses it as an excuse to stick close to Josh.

The hand-holding is just to sell the act. It is.

It’s totally not related to the little thrill that jolts up his spine every time Josh introduces him to someone as his boyfriend.

Right after dinner, Josh pulls him aside with a concerned look on his face. “You okay? You were really out of it during dinner.”

Vas blinks. “Really?” He didn’t remember acting weird during the meal. Okay, he might have been a little preoccupied with the way he and Josh kept playing footsie under the table, but he hadn’t thought it was obvious. “No, I’m fine.”

Josh squints at him like he’s trying to solve a puzzle. “Look, we really don’t have to keep up the whole faking it thing if you’re not cool with it,” he says. “I mean my family can’t really send you home for it at this point.”

Vas ignores the pang in his heart that seems to come whenever he thinks about when this will end. “And have your grandparents write you out of the will?” he teases, elbowing Josh in the side. “Besides - and I will deny saying this until my dying day - you aren’t such a terrible boyfriend.”

Josh grins. “Sap.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

Vas doesn’t even think about it, he just moves in and kisses Josh on the lips like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

He pulls away quickly, realizing they’re alone in the room and don’t have to pretend, but Josh just blushes and rolls his eyes. “Come on, asshole. Let’s get back to the food before all the good chocolate is gone.”

* * *

Vas finally figures it out that night.

He’s curled up next to Josh in bed, the two of them watching the snow falling outside the window and listening to Christmas music on Josh’s phone. Josh is already half asleep, which makes it even more adorable when he starts trying to sing along when “Merry Christmas, Darling” comes on. Half the words are totally incoherent, and he’s slurring like he’s been on a three-day bender, but his voice his soft and warm in Vas’s ear.

Listening to his best friend sleepily muttering along with the song makes Vas grin to himself, and he tangles his legs with Josh’s under the blankets. He’d been apprehensive at the start of this whole fake-dating thing - not to mention tempted to hit Josh with a blunt instrument over it - but honestly? It’s been...really nice.

Something he could get used to, almost.

Something he thinks he’d _like_ to get used to.

And that’s when everything clicks and Vas realizes that, at some point since this started, he’d stopped faking the whole liking-Josh-as-more-than-a-friend thing.

It’s not the first time he’s had feelings like this - he spent the better part of ninth grade crushing hardcore on Josh - but he thought he’d buried them deeply enough that they’d disappeared without incident.

Now he’s not sure they were ever really gone in the first place.

Fuck.

Josh must sense Vas’s sudden panic, because he turns his head slightly and mumbles, “S’matter?”

Vas manages to keep his voice steady when he replies, “Nothing, _güero._ Go to sleep.”

“Mmkay.” Josh snuggles closer, tucking his face into Vas’s chest, and almost immediately starts to snore.

As Vas lies there, his best friend curled around him like a limpet and his own heart beating a mile a minute, he wills himself to calm down. This is fine, he can deal with this. He dealt with it in ninth grade, after all (or so he’d thought, at any rate).

Except he hadn’t been pretending to date Josh in ninth grade. He hadn’t known what he was missing. And now that he does...he’s not sure what he’ll do when it’s over.

It takes him a long time to fall asleep.

* * *

In the morning, Vas has, for lack of a better word, calmed down a little. Of course, any calm he’s managed to build up vanishes the instant he looks over at Josh, sleep-tousled and groggy. It’s a sight he’s seen more times than he can count, but last night’s revelation has shifted Vas’s...everything, really.

He shoves the feeling in his chest down, calling on all his old coping mechanisms from ninth grade and forcing an easy smile on his face. “Morning, asshole.”

Josh rolls his eyes. “What, no good morning kiss?”

Vas wills himself not to blush. “Nobody else in the room, _güero_.”

“I’m method acting.”

Vas puts up a good show of grumbling, but after a few moments he leans down and pecks Josh on the lips. “Happy now?”

“Ecstatic.” Josh grins and pushes himself out of bed. “Now coffee.”

When Josh grabs his hand and pulls Vas along, Vas doesn’t complain.

Unsurprisingly, they’re the last ones up - neither of them are known for being early risers - and the breakfast conversation is well underway by the time the boys sit down at the table. One of Josh’s cousins - Emma, if Vas remembers correctly - throws a napkin at Josh and says, “About time you two woke up. We thought we’d have to leave for the rink without you.”

Vas arches an eyebrow. “Rink?”

“Faraday family tradition,” Josh says through a mouthful of eggs. “Ice skating, and then hot chocolate.” He shoves at Vas playfully. “Boyfriends are not required to come if they don’t want to, though.”

“And miss the chance to see you fall on your ass? Fuck that, I’m coming.”

* * *

“Pretty sure you’re falling on your ass a lot more than I am.”

Vas glares up at Josh from his less-than-dignified position on the ground. “Shut up. I haven’t been skating since I was eight.”

“You sucked then, too, if I remember right.”

“You are a terrible boyfriend.”

Josh laughs. “Sorry, babe.” He stretches down and carefully helps Vas to his feet. Vas immediately wobbles and clings to his best friend for stability (and okay, maybe a little more than stability). “It’s honestly not that hard once you get the hang of it.”

That’s how they end up face to face, Josh skating backwards and holding gently to Vas’s lower arms as he walks Vas through the basics. Vas wants it on record that he really is trying to pay attention - it’s just a little hard to do when Josh’s face is only about a foot from his own, flushed and pink from the outside air and wearing an uncharacteristically soft expression.

Vas stumbles at one point and lurches forward, but Josh catches him neatly, smiling a little. “Close but not quite.” Their faces are inches apart now and Vas feels his throat dry up as his gaze moves from Josh’s eyes to his lips.

Emma, in true Faraday fashion, chooses that moment to skate by, shouting, “Get a room!”

“Fuck off!” Josh replies. “I can be obnoxiously adorable with my boyfriend in public if I want to.” He shakes his head. “She and her girlfriend are always so much worse, I don’t know what she’s even complaining about.”

Vas can’t resist. “So let’s give her something to complain about.”

Josh grins and moves in for a deep kiss, pulling Vas into him and wrapping his arms around his waist. Vas seizes the opportunity and wraps his own arms around Josh, leaning into the kiss and letting himself pretend, just for a couple of seconds, that this isn’t make believe.

For a brief moment, he almost has himself convinced.

* * *

“Is it electronic in any way?”

“Not telling.”

“Can I wear it?”

“For the last time, I’m not telling you what your present is.”

Josh sips at his hot chocolate thoughtfully. “Is it bigger than a bread box?”

Vas groans in exasperation. “Do we really need to have this conversation every year?”

“Yes. It’s tradition.” Josh leans over and licks a bit of foam off Vas’s upper lip, and all right, that was completely uncalled for and Vas would complain if he hadn’t enjoyed it so much. “Can I get a hint at least?”

“Do you ever quit?”

“Nope. It’s one of the reasons you love me.”

It takes all of Vas’s self-control not to choke on his drink. He knows Josh is just kidding around, but given his new (old) feelings, the l word isn’t something he can just casually throw around. Granted, seventeen is a little young to be using it anyway, but he’s known Josh for ten years, that’s long enough, right?

Not that it matters.

“One of the reasons I put up with you, anyway,” he forces out, and if his voice is a little less steady than usual, he can blame it on almost choking to death.

* * *

The evening is spent huddled together under a blanket with Josh while they all watch Home Alone and Die Hard, and while Vas enjoys it, a traitorous part of his brain keeps reminding him that in a couple of days the charade will be over.

He tells himself it won’t be so terrible - it’s not like he’s losing Josh, his best friend will still be there - but he can’t help but compare the immediate future to an imaginary one where this just...doesn’t stop. Where he and Josh stay a couple and all the sappy, romantic things they say to each other are mutually genuine, where all the kisses and close touches are given because they want to give them, not to help sell an act.

Vas does his best to keep all these thoughts from showing on his face, but they’ve known each other for ten years, of course Josh is going to know when something is bothering him. He feels Josh’s concerned eyes on him more than a few times and starts mentally preparing a convincing excuse for the worried best friend talk he knows is coming at some point tonight.

* * *

Said talk comes before bed, during their personal annual tradition of exchanging presents with each other at the stroke of midnight (Josh’s idea when they were eleven, he’d said it was the best way to start Christmas Day).

They’re sitting next to each other on the bed, watching the clock count down, when Josh starts up. “So can we talk about something really quick?”

Vas steels himself. “Sure. What’s up?” As if he doesn’t already know.

Josh takes a deep breath. “Okay, I know you said you were fine with all of this, and when we started I didn’t think it was gonna be a big deal, but you’ve been acting weird for days now and you can’t tell me that’s not because of this.”

He’s right, Vas can’t tell him that. He also can’t tell Josh that the reason he’s been acting weird is probably the one reason Josh could never imagine it being.

“Josh…”

“I just...I feel like I forced all of this on you, and that’s not cool, Vas.” Josh runs a hand roughly through his hair in remorse. “Like, I’ve done some shitty things in the past, but this-”

“ _Güerito_ , you haven’t been forcing me to do anything.”

Vas knows that his next words might very well fuck up their friendship forever, but he can’t stand the self reproach in Josh’s eyes right now, and honestly? He’s not sure he can keep this hidden forever. Not when Josh knows him so well.

“Look, Josh, when we started this, yeah, it was a little ridiculous, even for one of your ideas,” Vas says carefully, “but I didn’t mind playing along. Hell, it wasn’t even that different from how we acted before. I haven’t been acting weird because I wanted to stop.”

“Then why?” Josh asks, eyes wide with uncertainty and worry and something Vas can’t quite identify.

Vas inhales slowly. “I’ve been acting weird because I _don’t want_ to stop.”

A long, deafening silence stretches out in the room as Vas watches Josh process his words. He bites the inside of his cheek, hoping he’ll still have his best friend after tonight, because he can live with them not being together-together, but he can’t lose Josh altogether, he can’t…

When Josh finally starts talking again Vas actually jumps a little. “So...all of...all of _this_ ,” and here he gestures vaguely between the two of them, “you weren’t...You meant it?”

Vas nods slowly. His voice is barely above a whisper as he replies, “Yes.”

When Josh doesn’t show any other reaction besides staring at him in disbelief, he tries for what little damage control he can. “I only told you because I can’t hide shit from you, I never could. I don’t expect anything, I just...please tell me we can keep being friends. Because I can’t lose you, Josh, even if I can’t have you in the way I want you right now, so please-”

Before he can say another word, Josh’s lips are crashing into his own. Which is...definitely not the reaction Vas was expecting.

He’s not sure how long they stay like that, but eventually they break apart, their foreheads staying pressed together. “I thought I was the only one,” Josh murmurs in a shaky voice.

Vas struggles to form a coherent sentence. “How long have you…?”

“Since forever.” Josh gives a wobbly smile. “That’s not why I wanted to pretend to date you, but it was…”

“A bonus?” Vas smiles back. “I know the feeling.”

“So, we...we don’t have to stop? Like, we can keep doing the whole fake dating thing? I mean, it wouldn’t be fake now, obviously - although I guess it wasn’t fake before. But we can keep doing all the stuff we were doing when we were pretending to fake date?”

“You do know there are ways of asking someone to be your boyfriend that don’t require the other person needing a diagram to figure out what you just said, right?”

Josh swats at him. “Just answer the question, asshole.”

He sounds like he still can’t quite believe it, like he’s expecting Vas to laugh and say he was just fucking with him, and Vas can’t have that. So he reaches up to cup Josh’s face in gentle hands and says, “I cannot tell you how much I want to keep dating you. For real.” He kisses Josh softly. “We can make it Facebook official and everything.”

The quiet laugh that escapes Josh’s lips is one of the most beautiful things Vas has ever heard. They just sit like that for a while, pressed against each other, both of them taking their time to process what just happened, what they’ve both just been given.

After a while, Vas glances at the clock and sees it’s well past midnight. He nudges Josh’s shoulder and points at the wrapped boxes sitting at the foot of the bed. “Hopefully this won’t ruin the mood. Present time?”

Josh grins as he plucks the bow off one of the boxes and sticks it onto Vas’s chest. “You’re my present this year.”

“...did you really just try to be romantic by quoting a fucking Folger’s commercial at me?”

“Wow, rude much? I was trying to be sentimental, you ass.”

They glare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Josh leans in and kisses him again, slow and sweet and perfect, and Vas knows it’s the corniest, most cliche thought to have, but this really is the best gift he could have asked for.

“Merry Christmas, Vas.”

“Merry Christmas, _cariño_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Appropriately enough, parts of Vas and Faraday's relationship are heavily based on my relationship with my own best friend, including one or two exchanges we've had practically verbatim.
> 
> Also, I wanted to fit the rest of the Seven in here somehow but it didn't work out that way. Sorry, boys.


End file.
